The Children of Gaia
is an antagonistic group of Riders fought in Monster Hunter Stories Ultimate. Description The Children of Gaia is a group of nature-worshipping militants primarily composed of Wyverians, with only a select few humans, Sea People, and Troverians taking part in it. Members of both sexes tend to carry equipment crafted from Rooted Wyverns under the justification that the plant-like monsters can regrow lost parts and do not sense pain like typical monsters do, with higher-ranking members wielding equipment from higher-level monsters. Linden Vihrantus, a tall, thin Wyverian man notable for wearing round, black specs and having a head of long, brown hair, leads the group, and sets himself apart from his subordinates by donning Arderopac equipment. Personality Obsessed with protecting nature above all else, The Children of Gaia are immensely hostile to those who pollute or harm monsters in any way, and are quick to resort to threats and violence if it means punishing those who harm nature, not caring who gets hurt as long as the monsters are okay. They especially dislike anyone associated with the Hunter's Guild, most notably Hunters and Riders, viewing the former group as bloodthirsty psychopaths who slaughter innocent monsters for fun and the latter group's relationships with Monsties as a form of slavery, and seek to separate them and put the Monsties back in the wild by any means necessary, whether it be propaganda, kidnapping, threats of violence, assault, or even murder. Even harm done in justified cases, like self-defense, euthanasia, the protection of innocents, or even conservation, are enough to incite their wrath. Notably anti-industrialization, they also seek to convert human settlements into habitats for monsters, whether people thrive in them or not. Highly devoted to their cause to the point of insanity, they refuse to consume anything that isn't derived from plants or natural sources of water, and will spend most of their time preaching about how important their goals are, becoming immensely hostile if anyone questions them, attempts to change the subject, or does anything they deem as "unnatural", like attempting to contain live viruses so they don't spread, or utilizing technology. They also tend to run "awareness" campaigns (in truth, these are just attempts to appeal to onlookers' emotions) that are considered by many to be amazingly stupid or in poor taste, like comparing the act of eating meat to genocide or lynching, the act of drinking milk to nonconsensual sex, throwing buckets of blood at anyone who uses monster equipment, claiming that they wouldn't support cures for deadly diseases if they used animal products, advocating the starvation of poor communities for the sake of "helping the planet", and hiring well-known figures to represent them. However, despite what their activism and devotion might suggest, the group is immensely hypocritical and self-righteous in practice. Despite decrying the perceived abuses of Riders and Hunters alike, they have been observed keeping Monsties for themselves, polluting the environment with things intended to spread their messages (ex. empty bottles and smog-spewing airships), using the medicine and technology they condemn for themselves, hiring public figures who eat meat to represent them, being abusive and neglectful to monsters (ex. forcing obligate carnivores to take strictly vegan diets and beating them senseless so they'll produce the goods they want), vandalizing sacred grounds, and casually slaughtering most of the monsters they "save" and dumping their bodies in trash heaps, believing that domestication is a fate worse than death (again, they keep Monsties for themselves). Most of its members appear to sincerely believe the cause despite all this. Background The Children of Gaia was founded by a young Wyverian man who went by the name of Linden Vihrantus, who started the group after exposing a sect of the Hunter's Guild that was using a hidden laboratory to enact unethical research on monsters, like vivisecting them without the use of anaesthesia, injecting them with diseases disguised as vaccinations to study their effects, forcing infected and non-infected individuals to breed so they could test the spread of diseases, and starving and dehydrating them to determine how long they could go without food or water before dying. Traumatized by the events he witnessed, Linden began to see the Hunter's Guild and its associates as the real monsters, whether they partook in the unethical research or not, and came to the conclusion that the only way to prevent abuse like this from occurring ever again was to have the Guild overthrown by any means necessary, with the ends justifying the means. Once he made up his mind, he travelled the world to share his story with anyone who would listen, amassing an ever-growing following who were moved by the tragic tale. Over time, the original message, which was about the evils of the Guild, was changed to vilify anyone who was deemed harmful to nature, from Hunters and Riders, who were respectively seen as mass murderers and slavers, to scientists and industrial workers, who were deemed to have a severe "disconnect" from nature that needed to be duly punished. The group began to impose a large and strict set of policies that were intended to ensure that no one in the group would ever stoop to the level of the "filthy parasites" they condemned on anyone they encountered, like forcing people to only consume plant matter and water, even if they were inedible, banning the use of modern technology and medicine under the guise of them being seen as pollutants, and only allowing the use of monster parts if they were gathered from Rooted Wyverns, as the monsters were thought to regrow their parts and be unable to feel pain due to them being purported to lack nervous systems. The group also took to creating various ads and committing various crimes to spread their message under the idea that any publicity is good publicity, ranging from the petty, from splashing people who wore fur with blood and accusing meat-eaters of supporting genocide and lynching, to the outright heinous, like kidnapping and later killing Monsties and allowing people to die from preventable tragedies if it means not using animal products. This sort of behaviour has led to the group gaining a heavily mixed reception from the public at best, with many decrying them for their extremism and sanctimony, and some groups who supported some of their ideals, like preventing cruelty to monsters and promoting environmental awareness, condemned them for distorting the message they were trying to tell and making it look bad to the public eye. One fateful day, the group encountered a notably powerful Rooted Wyvern by the name of Xipec Auztecol, which served as a guardian of forests. They went up to the monster and requested its help in converting cities and towns into habitat for monsters, not caring if there were people currently living in them or not. However, Xipec was immediately distrustful of them due to their hypocrisy and self-righteousness, and attacked them in response, resulting in many of the members getting killed by it, with the survivors fleeing before it would be too late for them. Noticing that a man by the name of Lord Hepskor was granting people special devices that could control the minds of monsters in exchange for obedience, they visited him in his headquarters and begged him to grant him one of the devices so they could enact their goal, claiming that Xipec left them with nothing. Taking pity on the once-proud team of militants, he offered to give them a device under the condition that they don't target any Draconis Automata settlements, and they agreed. They decided to put the device to the test by taking down Xipec in an ambush, then planting the device on its head. Once it awoke, the giant Rooted Wyvern obeyed Linden's every command without question, and realizing this, he sent it to destroy anyone who would dare oppose the group of militants, finally having the power to enact his goals full-scale. But little did The Children of Gaia know that one would-be victim, a curious young Rider with a Felyne for a companion, would serve to be their final downfall… Abilities The Children of Gaia specialize in the Nature element, utilizing a variety of Nature-based equipment and Nature-elemental Monsties. They all display some degree of ability in combat, and use their Monsties to enact their goals. They are also shown to be experts at appealing to people's emotions, using all manner of propaganda to turn onlookers to their side. Tropes that Apply to Them * Ain't Too Proud To Beg: Defeated members of the group will beg the player to spare them. * All-Natural Snake Oil: ** To build up funds, the group peddles immensely expensive containers of questionable herbal mixtures that they claim can cure any and all diseases and disorders. The player can purchase some for themselves if they so wish, and if they use it, they'll find that not only is this claim a lie, it also doesn't do anything when used. Buying it will cause the peddlers to mock you under their breath for falling for their claims. ** The group has a strong stance against modern medicine, believing it to be unnatural, and advocates only using said herbal mixtures to cure illnesses. This results in victims of the sham, including their own members, dying from not getting proper medical treatment. Hypocritically, higher-ranking members can be seen using modern medicine on themselves when afflicted with illnesses. * Arc Villain: They're the primary villains of MHSTU's early High-Rank campaign, using a mind-controlled Xipec Auztecol to forcibly convert towns and cities into forests, whether people live in them or not. The most notable victim of this act is Jumbo Village. * Animal Wrongs Group: Their main intention is to get Riders to release their Monsties into the wild, believing the relationship between Riders and Monsties to be a form of slavery, and overthrow the Hunter's Guild, believing them to perpetrate abuse towards monsters. However, that doesn't stop them from owning Monsties and abusing monsters, among other things. * Evil Is Petty: They've been known to splash people with blood for the simple crime of wearing equipment made from monsters that aren't Rooted Wyverns. This extends to the battles with their members, who'll sometimes throw buckets of blood at you as an attack. This attack deals no damage, but inflicts Skillseal. * Garden Garment: Members of the group only wear clothing made from plants, which extends to Rooted Wyverns. They claim it's because neither one has an immune system, and thus can't feel pain, making their use justified. While true for ordinary plants, it's debatable if Rooted Wyverns fall into that category or not. * Green Thumb: The group specializes in the Nature element. * Hate Sink: Nin10DillN64 did not intend for them to be liked, which is shown by their hypocrisy and extremism. * Hypocrite: Fall under this trope in a number of ways. ** Despite claiming to be protectors of the environment, they use smog-spewing airships to spread their messages, and members can be witnessed throwing their merchandize on the ground and in waterways when it's no longer useful to them. ** Although the group as a whole claims that Monsties should be put back into the wild, all its members keep Monsties for themselves. Most members believe that it's fine for them to do it, though a few select members dislike the act and simply view it as necessary to fill their cause. ** Various members can be seen abusing and neglecting monsters despite decrying perceived abuse and neglect from Hunters and other Riders. This ranges from depriving carnivorous monsters of nourishment to viciously attacking bound and gagged monsters so they'll produce valuable materials like Wyvern Tears. ** The group hires meat-eating celebrities to represent them despite claiming that eating meat is a vile act comparable to genocide and lynching. ** Higher-ranking members have containers of medicine and industrial equipment in their portion of their headquarters despite decrying modern medicine and technology as unnatural and evil and denying their subordinates the use of them. * Kick The Dog: ** Prior to their attack on the town, three members preaching in Jumbo Village can be seen shaming the townsfolk for eating meat and drinking milk, comparing the former act to genocide and lynching and the latter act to rape. When a man call them out on it, they respond by knocking him down and kicking him until the player or a town guard intervenes. ** Members of the group can be seen depriving carnivorous Monsties like Nargacuga and Great Jaggi the meat they need to survive, forcing them to eat nothing but plants instead, thinking that the act of eating meat is somehow "unnatural". This results in the monsters looking notably emaciated and miserable. ** Behind their headquarters is a large cluster of garbage bins stuffed with corpses from various Monsties that were kidnapped from their Riders. If this is brought up, the members will brush it off, claiming that domestication is a fate worse than death despite owning Monsties themselves. Their own Monsties can be seen glaring at them or giving them a saddened look as they hear their statements. ** Two of the first members fought outside of Jumbo Village can be witnessed beating up an incapacitated Yian Kut-Ku in an attempt to get it to drop Wyvern Tears while shouting that they protect monsters from abuse prior to the fight with them. ** When a villager in Jumbo village succumbs to a deadly illness after being conned into buying the group's useless herbal mixture, the two peddlers who conned her insult her for being too weak to live, claiming that she deserved to die. * Knight Templar: They don't care how many people they hurt with their actions as long as monsters are okay, and are willing to sacrifice the very monsters they claim to protect for the sake of their cause. * Manipulative Bastard: They like to post ads that demonize Hunters and other Riders, with said ads featuring graphic images of the two groups being cruel to small, cutesy monsters. * Mind-Control Device: They planted one of these on the Xipec Auztecol under their control after a successful ambush, bending it to Linden Vihrantus's will. * Social Darwinist: ** The group considers reliance on medicine to be a sign of weakness, and refuses to let anyone use treatments more complicated than their useless herbal mixtures, which results in villagers and members alike suffering serious complications and dying from infections. When this occurs, the group mocks them for not being strong enough to survive. Hypocritically, higher-ranking members can be seen using modern medicine for themselves, as shown by containers of medicine hidden in their headquarters and their habit of using Antidotes on themselves when poisoned. ** The group as a whole enforces a "survival of the fittest" policy, claiming that the towns and villages they attack deserve it for being too weak to prevent the attacks. However, its members will beg for mercy if the player defeats them, and will send combatants to avenge their allies if the player chooses to kill them. * Too Dumb To Live: The group tried to get a Xipec Auztecol to forcibly convert towns and cities, most notably Dundorma Town, into forests, believing that it would recognize them as animal rights activists and do their bidding. It killed a large portion of them in response to their hypocrisy instead. * Ungrateful Bastard: Members of the group who are spared will continue to try to kill the player, and may mouth off about being saved by a "filthy freak" under their breath. *Villain Has a Point: Despite their extremism, they are correct about the Guild being cruel to monsters, with the most notable example of the organization's cruelty being the Savage and Extreme Eater Deviljhos that they confine in arenas and starve to near-death to provide entertainment to hunters and audiences. Unfortunately, their hypocrisy and self-righteousness undermines this fact, to the point where people who otherwise agree with them refuse to associate with them. *Well-Intentioned Extremist: Most of the group's members sincerely believe that they're doing what's right for monsters, but enact their goals in a clearly wrong way. Notes and Trivia * The Children of Gaia were primarily based on PETA, ALF, and Team Plasma from Pokémon Black and White. * Choosing to have members of The Children of Gaia killed off in Monster Hunter Stories Ultimate does not deplete from the game's Karma Meter, showcasing just how far off the deep end they are. Some characters may become wary of the player after they finish the act, however. * Should the player stand idle and watch the three thugs in Jumbo Village beat up their victim, the town guard who intervenes will chastise them for not doing anything to help despite having the ability to do so after driving them off. This negatively affects the Karma Meter, and the man in question will have difficulty remembering the event when talked to, implying that he suffered brain damage from the assault. Category:NPC Character Category:Monster Hunter Stories Ultimate Category:Nin10DillN64